Hey folks, I need some feedback.


The problem
My poor sister's Cooper S took a leave of absence two days before her wedding. Specifically it went into limp mode and wouldn't shift out of first gear.


Very long story short, she was led to believe there was no coming back from this point and before leaving for her honeymoon, she purchased a new vehicle (she needs one for work when she gets back.)


My dad called me this morning and told me that the mechanic can get the poor girl up and running for about $2000.




The Dilemma

I have been given the unenviable task [not my car, not my money] of trying to figure out if it's going to be better to have the car fixed and sell it running properly, or sell it as is for parts/track project.


I appreciate any feedback, thanks guys/gals

 

Selling it one piece is easy, parting it out requires tools, knowledge, disassembly and shipping. Also time dealing with buyers and money and complaints. Need more details on fix so you can figure it's future.

 

Sorry, I guess I didn't articulate myself that well.


We would sell it as is, perhaps for someone else looking to part it out.


I have enough projects already.


I'll post more details as soon as I have them regarding the required repairs.

 

You probably already know this, but year, mileage and condition will play a large factor. Your goal for the sale will also factor. Most cash vs fast sell. If it were me, and the only thing the car needs to be a reliable daily with low to average miles, then I would get it fixed by an indie and sell it. If it isn't a low to average mile car or has other cosmetic/mechanical issues needing attention, I would make it driveable and sell it for what I could get out of it.

Something to keep in mind is that some wierd people start to come out of the woodwork for a cheap car that can be potentially be fixed for cheap..

 

Thanks Jason. I'm working on getting that info still. The goal at this point is simply to help my sister get some cash out of it (she couldn't trade it in).


I've sold my share of cheap cars - I know the people that come out of the woodwork. It amazes me that some of them can breathe on their own.

 

Haha - what about donating it to a charity and taking the tax write off.. Not sure if she filed yet but might still be able to get it into 2015. Personally since it's only gonna be able to yield you $5k ish in running condition if you invest $2k your net is $3k. Getting knifed over $3k from a Craigslist psycho vs. getting a usually very good tax write off....I would explore

 

That's actually a very interesting idea, but I can't think of a charity I dislike enough to make this car their burden.

That's a really cool idea though.

 

Carmax will buy anything. My 03 Silverado literally died as I pulled it into the lot, and refused to restart. Still got a check for 1,500 bucks. Not bad for 250k miles, warped intake manifold, body damage.. They pay you decent in hopes you will buy one of the overpriced used cars on the lot. Just my 2 cents.

 

Yeah - there is that. I think hard to sell a broken car....you'll get like $2000 max. And too annoying to invest more money to get it running. Are you sure the $2000 repair bill is legit? I am assuming it's an automatic? Since I don't know of many manuals that will lock out gears??

 

Yeah, it's an automatic. And yes, the mechanic is my dad's neighbour and we have used him for as long as I can remember.

Keeping in mind that I'm getting the details third hand, my understanding is that the tensioner on the timing belt (yes, I know, chain) slacked off and the cam/crank we're out of sync, trigging a CAS fault and an ETCM trip that put the car into limp mode.


Basically I'm trying to do something other than scrap it.

 

Offer it up to the mechanic friend for $3,500 - he invests his labor and makes $1,000?? Selling it on his own?

 

Drop a 6 speed manual into it , lots of work but if you could get a donor wreaked R53 with an LSD that would be nice. Otherwise the mechanic would be repairing the auto transmission.

Do you know its the chain ? Read the fault codes ?

Start here for the transmission.

http://www.bmw-planet.com/lib/mini/A...06%20SPEED.pdf

and here:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-at-80k-5.html

 

If you post the VIN number or a photo of the door sticker we can do a reverse lookup on the car to give you some more information about it.

http://bimmer.work/

 

WMWRE33535TG97607


The transmission is fine - the timing chain slipped. The car is going to be fixed and sold.

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it.